The Courage To Hope
Guidance counselor Heather Browning is desperate. She needs a mentor to help Simon, a disabled student who is struggling at Gordon Falls High School. Unfortunately, hotshot Max Jones is her only option. Confrontational and cavalier, Max uses his flashy persona to hide the bitterness he's felt since his life-changing accident. Perpetually cautious, Heather finds Max's bad-boy bravado as intriguing as it is infuriating. But as Heather and Max work together to build Simon's self-confidence, they begin to trust each other. Max has never been slow and careful with anything. Can he be gentle with Heather's heart?
Gordon Falls: Hearts ablaze in a small town.
My Thoughts:
“You’ll have to shout
loud to get through to Max Jones.”
(p. 156)
Heather Browing thinks that the Lord needs to shout loud to
reach Max Jones, but He pretty much has to shout loud to reach most of the
character in Allie Pleiter’s latest installment of Gordon Fall’s story, A Heart to Heal. Max’s heart has
suffered more recently than Heather’s, but they both have a lot of healing to
do.
Heather didn’t abandon her faith when tragedy struck her
like, but she is still reeling from painful circumstance that makes her a bit uncertain
in the face of Max’s hot wheels! Pleiter
uses a fifteen-year-old with unique challenges – both physical and emotional –
as a pivot point that brings everyone together through conflict! The plot in this novel builds in complexity
until your heart begs for relief! The
conclusion remains uncertain – entertaining the possibility of failure – and that’s
what makes the ending both believable and satisfying.
I admit that sometimes when I see Love Inspired on the
cover, I usually go the other way. I am
SO GLAD I took the time to invest in this novel! It was realistic, dealt with difficult
challenges – physical, emotional and spiritual – and left me challenged in ways
that helped me grow in my won walk with the Lord. I highly recommend A Heart to Heal.
About the Author:
Enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and nonfiction. An avid knitter, harp player and non-reformed chocoholic, she spends her days writing books, doing laundry, running carpools and finding new ways to avoid housework. Allie grew up in Connecticut, holds a BS in speech from Northwestern University and currently lives in suburban Chicago, Illinois. The "dare from a friend" to begin writing eight years ago has blossomed into a career that includes numerous public speaking engagements, two books on parenting; Becoming a Chief Home Officer and Facing Every Mom's Fears and now novels for Steeple Hill Books. She is the mother of two children and, most recently, a Havanese dog named Bella.
No comments:
Post a Comment